Scissors are utilized in a wide variety of applications, ranging from various uses in the home to uses in manufacturing plants and processing plants. One particular application is scissors is in food processing plants. In these plants, scissors are used to process various particular parts of animals. For example, scissors may be used to trim skin or fat, to separate meat from bone, or to cut meat into separate portions.
One issue that has arisen during the use of scissors in any application, and specifically in food processing applications, is the sharpness of the blades of the scissors. During use, the blades are gradually dulled. Duller blades cause cuts to be inaccurate and imprecise, and can cause injuries to the workers using the scissors. Further, and particularly in food processing applications which can require repetitive use, the increased pressure required for cutting due to dulling of the blades can cause musculoskeletal injuries, such as carpal tunnel syndrome.
Thus, methods and apparatus for monitoring the sharpness of the blades of scissors are desired in the art. However, currently known testing apparatus have a variety of disadvantages. For example, currently known testing apparatus monitor only the peak force required for cutting by scissors, and provide no information regarding increases or decreases in force throughout cutting or where along the blades of the scissors the peak force requirements occur.
In view of the above, an improved testing device and method for testing scissors would be desired in the art. For example, an improved testing device and method that provide improved force and position information for the scissors blades during testing would be particularly advantageous.